Cookbook:Cumin
| Cumin | |
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| Category | Herbs and spices |
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Ingredients | Spices and herbs
Cumin or jeera is a spice in the parsley family.[1][2]
Characteristics
[edit | edit source]The spice comes from the seed (technically the fruit) of the plant. The small, long seed is tan ("amber") in its most common form,[2][3] though you can also purchase white and black varieties.[4] It is often visually confused with caraway seed,[1][4] which it resembles in appearance but not at all in flavor. The flavor of cumin can be largely attributed to its main aromatic molecule, cuminaldehyde,[2] along with pinene and cymene,[3] which give it a warm musty or earthy flavor.[1][3][4]
Selection and storage
[edit | edit source]As with all spices, store cumin at room temperature in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. The whole seed will keep longer than the ground seed, though both will stay flavorful for months.[4]
Use
[edit | edit source]Cumin plays a large seasoning role in several cuisines, including those of South Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico.[1][2][3] It is a component of the spice mixtures, garam masala, panch puran, ras el hanout, advieh, char masala, and curry powder.[2][3][5]
When lightly toasted, cumin seeds develop a more complex flavor.[3] It pairs well with other warm spices like cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, and nutmeg, as well as with coriander.[3]
Substitution
[edit | edit source]Recipes
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c d Labensky, Sarah R.; Hause, Alan M.; Martel, Priscilla (2018-01-18). On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals. Pearson. ISBN 978-0-13-444190-0.
- ↑ a b c d e Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2014-09-26). Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-09183-9.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Farrimond, Dr Stuart (2018-11-06). The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking. National Geographic Books. ISBN 978-1-4654-7557-2.
- ↑ a b c d Friberg, Bo (2016-09-13). The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-46629-2.
- ↑ Davidson, Alan (2014-01-01). Jaine, Tom (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677337.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.